If you are unfamiliar with the Reichstag Fire:
The Reichstag Fire was an arson attack on the Reichstag building, home of the German parliament in Berlin, on Monday, 27 February 1933, precisely four weeks after Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany. Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch council communist, was the culprit; the Nazis attributed the fire to a group of Communist agitators, used it as a pretext to claim that Communists were plotting against the German government, and induced President Paul von Hindenburg to issue the Reichstag Fire Decree suspending civil liberties, and pursue a “ruthless confrontation” with the Communists. This made the fire pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany.
By John Pavlovitz, as posted by Jill Dennison
In the wake of the unthinkable images and footage coming out of California over the weekend, it’s easy to feel insulated from the chaos if we happen to reside somewhere else in the country, as if our geography protects us.
Watching heavily-armed troops spraying civilians with rubber bullets and bombing them with tear gas for rightly protesting I.C.E.’s indiscriminate round-up of people working in local businesses, sitting in traffic, and showing up for their legal immigration appointments, it’s critical that we remember something.
This isn’t about Los Angeles.
It’s not about the bluest of the blue states receiving the wrath of a vindictive president.
It’s not about an outspoken Democrat Governor being intentionally targeted.
This is about the future of our Republic.
Los Angeles is a test by this corrupt Administration of how much illegality the American people will tolerate, how willing we will be to abide authoritarianism, how easily ordinary people will allow an arm of the government to be weaponized against us. It is a barometer of the intestinal fortitude of our citizenry.
Trump is always looking for his Reichstag Fire; his reason to bring the hammer of the Military down upon the nation. Declaring Martial Law has always been his endgame and his strategy as transparent: create an emergency where one did not exist and propose to bring Law and Order to a lawlessness and disorder of which he is the sole author. As California Governor Gavin Newsom correctly declared on his X account: 1) Local law enforcement didn’t need help. 2) Trump sent troops anyway — to manufacture chaos and violence. 3) Trump succeeded. 4) Now things are destabilized, and we need to send in more law enforcement just to clean up Trump’s mess.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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I have read that 20% of Californians have been clamoring to secede from the Union. Is this a harbinger of things to come ? Is using the military a secret push by DJT to get California to secede just so that he could declare Martial Law ?!? Or would this create a domino effect ?!? The breakup of the Union ?!?
I’m a California voter and I’d vote for secession. If California could keep all the tax money we generate for use in California, it should reduce our taxes by a lot. We would be able to avoid maniacal presidents and would not have to participate in Washington’s maniacal wars. Yeah! Let’s do it. Count me in.
Thank you so much for linking to my post! I appreciate it!
My pleasure.❤️
I follow your blog, though I rarely comment.
Ben Berwick is a friend of mine, and that’s how I learned about your blog.
The day Trump was re-elected, a political scientist of my acquaintance and predicted that he would follow Hitler’s playbook. This political scientist is a sober man not given to exaggeration or hysterics.
I think he’s right. I’m closing in on 70 years of life on this wonderful, wild planet. I’ve lived through numerous riots, protests, and wars. My mom made sure I sat in front of the TV and watch what was going on in Detroit, Watts, Chicago, Kent, and other communities during the Vietnam War. Have we reached a similar place today? Maybe. So far, there are almost 2,000 No Kings protests scheduled for Saturday. It will be interesting to see how many people show up to protest. There’s even several protests planned near where I live. ❤️
For Valiant Boldly, I don’t know what percentage of Californians want to secede from the state, but most of the discussion takes place with the ultra-conservative right up in the northeast corner of the state, as well as in Redding (famous home of voting machine rumors, Sean Feucht, and Bethel Church). I haven’t heard of as many liberals talking about leaving the union, but there are definitely some conversations occurring given what is happening in Los Angeles. I’ve lived in the state 65 of my 68 years, and I am appalled at what is happening in LA.
I remember the movie “The Running Man” from the 1980’s. If you never seen it, I recommend watching it, or seeing it again if it’s been awhile. I remember at the time thinking the US would never become the police state that is portrayed in the movie, or that we would become so callous that watching people being killed on TV would be considered entertainment. Now I’m more concerned than ever that Dear Leader is taking us down that road.
His influencers, Putin, Xi and Un have absolute power and can respond to any large scale protest with a level of brutality that we cannot imagine here in the US, along with a complicit national media. This is what Trump wants.
Your thread is right on Bruce.
“Reichstag Fire was an arson attack on the Reichstag building, home of the German parliament in Berlin, on Monday, 27 February 1933, precisely four weeks after Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany. Marinus van der Lubbe,”
Correct me if I am wrong but I think Lubbe may have been Jewish or partly Jewish as well, no matter the case, this was the catalyst for the passing of the enabling acts and making the maniac, dictator of Germany.
I myself was in despair when the election tallies indicated Trump, facist, racist, thug, liar, cheater, sexual assaulter, 6 times bankrupt, twice impeached, game show host was to be re-elected.
Not that I am a fan of the Democratic Party but for me it was a choice between bad and CATASTROPHIC.
Being of approximately your age, it is sad to see the dissolution and destruction of the constitution and the American Experience by such an ignorant, thuggish brute. I personally have lost faith in the American Citizenry for allowing this monster back into office. Sadly if anyone had read plan 2025, and listened to his cronies and “him”, he is doing exactly what he said he would do.
If anyone happened to listen to the Canadian Prime Ministers recent speech, it is clear that the United States is well on it’s way to losing it’s place as a trusted trading partner, ally and leader of Western Democracies.
Supporting Putin? Leaving NATO??, Unleashing ICE and making immigrants the “OTHER”??
Causing the dollar to go out the window as the accepted world trade currency? Imposing by force Judaeo-Christianity on citizens, children’s education and the Academic World?? Devaluing medicine??
Whats next? Blood Letting and Concentration camps?
Yeah, I feel rather badly for my fellow citizens that did not vote for this abomination.
I see Trump as 2,922 grains of sand in an hourglass. Each day one of those grains falls and we are one day closer to being rid of him. It’s like we stepped in crap and can’t get it off our shoes. I suppose Trump will still influence his party after he is finally a cypher. I’m not sure if protests are the way to go. My protest will continue to be voting.
Did you count all those grains of sand? 🤣🤣
I fear he is going to do something that causes us catastrophic problems. Trump is the idiot who said “what good are nuclear weapons if you can’t use them?”
In his first term he had cabinet members and administration members who were guardrails which kept him from acting on his worst impulses. Those people — all of them — are long gone. I thought maybe Rubio and Bondi would provide guardrails, but I was mistaken. They are just as bad as he is. If Trump wants to do something, who is going to stop him? So far, the courts have had a restraining influence, but I fear that may not last.
3 inches and we would be having a different discussion. I do wonder, however, if a President J.D. Vance would be much better than Trump.
We’re in a shit hole, but you are right, this, in time, will pass. It remains to be seen how damage the toddler king can do. If I gave my youngest grandson (he’s 5) a hammer 🔨 and told him he was free to hit whatever he wanted, can you imagine the damage he would cause? Trump is my grandson. 😢
I did hear several reports that said Trump is wearing a Foley catheter bag on his leg. A recent picture suggests he has the catheter; either that or he has the largest dick in the world. 🤣🤣 According to Stormy Daniels, that’s not the case.
The Trump administration has a host of authoritarian playbooks to follow. Trump himself is only interested in enriching himself, his family, and to a lesser extent broligarchs. True blue believers like Steven Miller, Russell Vought, and the rest of the hard right neo-fascists are interested in subjugating We The People to their right-wing hellscape. California is a testing ground for how far this authoritarian government can push. Why aren’t other governors speaking out against this?